From A National Pride Tejas Gone National Shame Amid Stingent Failures

Starting in 1983, the Tejas fighter aircraft was touted as the marvel of Indian technology which would make an entire nation of a billion people proud, the dream however is yet to materialize. After having spent tens of thousands of crore rupees and almost three decades of development, the program has not brought pride but a national shame for India, all the while India’s enemies like Pakistan and China are building and exporting their own fighter aircrafts. In a recent report, it was stated that the aircraft now has some 53 technical flaws which have a crippling effect on its operational performance, there are serious problems with its radar and electronic warfare suites, the training variant is unavailable which makes training Tejas pilots an uphill task. 

 Not only that the reports suggest that the Indian content in Tejas is just 35% while the rest is imported from states like the United States, Israel, France and Britain. The story of failure doesn’t end here, after back to back delays; the aircraft is now incapable of housing a critical self protection system which will protect the pilot from enemy aircraft. The Indian Air Force has all but lost interest in Tejas as it was an aircraft of yesterday which is being pushed down its throat by an ultra nationalist Modi govt which lacks any strategic vision for India’s security interests. Its high time, the Indian govt decides to scrap this white elephant and direct funds to imported solutions like SAAB Gripen and other western fighter aircrafts to meet the ever rising threat from India’s enemies like Pakistan and China. 

The Tejas program is meant to do nothing more than satisfying the ego stock of the Modi govt which is bent on projecting India as a technological superpower while ignoring the genuine capability constraints faced by Indian aviation industry. This mindset has also been exacerbated by Indian Air Force’s JF-17 Thunder envy, a successful program across the border pulled off jointly by Pakistan and China. It seems as if Tejas is the only answer to ‘keeping up with the John’s’ for the Indian politicians and military brass in Delhi. The truth is, Tejas has utterly and truly failed, it’s time to scrap it and focus on real capability development for the Indian airforce.

Tejas: A Two Decade Long Wait for Fothing

It Confirmed, Thunder Will Fly With Additional Two Tonnes of Hell!!

PAF's JF-17 Thunder Block-II has been tested and will be certified to carry 3000lbs of extra weight on its stores. It takes the JF-17 Block-II into the 5 tonne payload fighter aircraft category.

This is an exclusively sourced excerpt from the upcoming November issue of combataircrafts.net. Its not available yet to the public.

What makes Tejas a wholly indigenous fighter, or how? Tejas borrows its Delta-Winged design from F-16XL.

Tejas wing design is opposite of F16XLs design as shown in the Figure below. Tejas leading edge is low sweep, where as in XL its high sweep

LCA Tejas is not an whole indigenous design project, in fact, DRDO drawn help from abroad many times.

Also,the design of Tejas is called compound delta, while that of XL is called cranked arrow. Tejas has a compound delta wing design with a unique low sweep leading edge crank. This crank is different from that of XLs. Tejas crank is only visible in the side view.

Updated LCA Tejas Mk.2: Infographics

A schematic info-graphs of Tejas, here, shows what features will be includes in the upgraded version Mark-II. First flight target 2017:

Tejas aircraft deficient in at least 100 technical parameters: Experts

The light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas is deficient in at least 100 technical parameters, said experts associated with the project. They also alleged that the initial operation clearance granted to Tejas two years ago was given despite the aircraft not meeting various crucial technical parameters.

The experts said as the aircraft has not achieved crucial technical parameters, it continues to be flown only by test pilots and its performance parameters too need to be monitored by ground-based stations. They also said the engine of Tejas lacked sufficient power. Though the experts were hopeful that these issues would be resolved by the then end of 2013, still the issues aren't clear how those make the pathway to solve,  they admit complex technicalities pose serious obstacles.

In a press release issued in March, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) admitted the delay in completion of project "Development of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas" and said it was hopeful to achieve Full Operational Clearance (FOC) by December 2014. "The LCA project, which though got delayed initially, is currently progressing on a fast track and is working on aggressive time schedules," it said.

"Productionisation of LCA is already going on. First series production aircraft were ready by the end of 2013, which aren't inducted still in the IAF. Indian Air Force has already placed order for 20 LCA in IOC configuration and another of 20 LCA in FOC configuration," added the release.

The Tejas aircraft is being manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The project 'Development of LCA' was sanctioned in August 1983 and Project Definition Phase (PDP) of LCA was completed in 1988. In 1990, a decision was taken to undertake LCA development in two phases. In the first phase to build 02 Technology Demonstrators (TDs) along with development of critical technologies including Multi Mode Radar (MMR) and in the second phase to build Prototype Vehicle0s, integrate weapons, sensors, and flight testing leading to Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) and Final Operational Clearance (FOC).

Recovery Parachute System for Indian LCA Developed by DRDO

Indian Govt. organization DRDO develops "Recovery Parachute System" for its LCA Tejas.Does it mean that this Light Fighter could drop straight down when flying in the sky? Its an obscure phenomenon, because Indian authorities and online defense forum members are sounding like " this is a fighter that there are no types exists like this one where F-16 C/Ds could match a little". The LCA program inducts an aerodynamic design straight from French "Mirages" and takes 30 years to develop an aircraft. HAL grasps some manufacturing capabilities by assembling Russian designed and ultimately final tested aircraft Sukhoi-30 MKI, specially made version for India.

Every year India loses pilots through the crushes of  "ancient bisons", the MiG-21s, so they feared about such crushes. And a little more doubt make them anxious about LCA. For this reason it is believed that Govt. wants a system which could minimize the damages and  loosing lives of pilots and ultimately refusal of pilots to fly these "premature" LCA birds.

The news about this "Recovery Parachute System" was published on defenceforumindia.com. Which is same as below_

[December 2005, defenceforumindia.com]

Recovery Parachute System

It is mandatory for a combat aircraft to demonstrate its spin recovery capability during flight test programme. The purpose of this system is to provide emergency recovery of aircraft from an inadvertent spin in case the aircraft controls are ineffective and are unable to pull it out of spin. The recovery is achieved by deployment of a parachute, which applies an anti-moment force at the rear of the out of control aircraft bringing its nose down further. This brings the aircraft into a controlled stabilized dive and helps it to come out of spin/deep stall.

DRDO has developed such parachutes for the flight test of LCA. The test altitude envelope for LCA (9500 kg weight) is 2 km to 12 km. The sequence of operation is as follows: 

 When a drogue gun is fired, the slug mass of the drogue gun moves rearwards and sequentially deploys the pilot chute at an aircraft wake distance of 23 m. When the pilot chute is stretched, snapping of the weak tie (48 kg) separates the slug mass of the drogue gun along with deployment bag of pilot chute. The chute then inflates and consequently pulls the packed main parachute. As the pilot chute moves rearwards the main parachute deploys sequentially. As soon as the main parachute is stretched, snapping of the weak tie (100 kg) separates the pilot chute and the deployment bag of main parachute. This allows the main parachute to inflate and produce necessary drag force of 32 kN, resulting in a yawing movement of aircraft. It then steepens the flight path angle (a-angle) of the aircraft. The aircraft can then be pulled out of spin by increasing its speed. The total operational time of the system is 3 s. When the aircraft comes out of spin, pilot jettisons the parachute by operating the release mechanism. The system has various redundancy/safety devices. When the release system fails, parachute can be separated through failure of weak link by accelerating the aircraft by 30 per cent.


Development work at sub-system level has been successfully completed and final qualification tests are under progress.

LCA Tejas: An Indian Fighter – With Foreign Help

India’s Light Combat Aircraft program is meant to boost its aviation industry, but it must also solve a pressing military problem. The IAF’s fighter strength has been declining as the MiG-21s that form the bulk of its fleet are lost in crashes, or retired due to age and wear. Most of India’s other Cold War vintage aircraft face similar problems.

In response, some MiG-21s have been modernized to MiG-21 ‘Bison’ configuration, and other current fighter types are undergoing modernization programs of their own. The IAF’s hope is that they can maintain an adequate force until the multi-billion dollar 126+ plane MMRCA competition delivers replacements, and more SU-30MKIs arrive from HAL. Which still leaves India without an affordable fighter solution. MMRCA can replace some of India’s mid-range fighters, but what about the MiG-21s? The MiG-21 Bison program adds years of life to those airframes, but even so, they’re likely to be gone by 2020.

That’s why India’s own Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project is so important to the IAF’s future prospects. It’s also why India’s rigid domestic-only policies are gradually being relaxed, in order to field an operational and competitive aircraft. Even with that help, the program’s delays are a growing problem for the IAF. Meanwhile, the west’s near-abandonment of the global lightweight fighter market opens an opportunity, if India can seize it with a compelling and timely product.

A Glimpse of LCA Tejas (Some informative Views)

LCA Tejas resemblance with French Mirage 2000_Its Not A Unique Design of HAL At All

LCA shares in common feautures with the French Mirage-2000 is that both are delta winged single engined multirole aircrafts. Nothing more or nothing less than that. Mirage is a super fighterjet ofcourse.

Here is a comparative side by side showing the totally independent designs of the LCA and the Mirage (the image is not to scale).

the RCS of the LCA is 1/3 rd that of the Mirage !!!

India sought a tie up with French Snecma for the development of Kaveri Engine. They supplied a new core to the Engine.

During 1964- 1977 India attempted to build a supersonic fighter : HAL HF-24 Marut Mk 1T [D1695]) MARUT

Development of the Marut: (the HF-24, designed by the great German WWII Designer Kurt Tank). HF-24 was to use engines with more power. Some European manufacturers were not willing to supply matching engines to India for Marut HF-24. . A prototype was built(1961). HF24 Marut have close resemblance with French Mirage.

HF-24

Infact the LCA when inducted should be given a HF-xx designation, following the naming pattern (HF standing for Hindusthan Fighter). Infact the phrase LCA is equivalent to "ATF" of the F-22 programme...and Tejas is equivalent to the Phrase "raptor" or "maruth" of the F-22 and HF-24's. In most probability the LCA will be called the HF-84 Tejas.

Some History during 1970-1971 (IAF- PAF)

During Indo-Pakistan war 1971, IAF was using Folland Gnats (British - smallest fighter jet of 1970's ) against PAF.

The PAF's mainstay was the F-86F Sabre. The F-86F Sabre (sometimes called the Sabrejet). Sabrejets were a larger aircrafts when compared to IAF Gnats . In the intial stages of the war PAF scored some victories but in later stages of war, we witnessed a large number of PAF Sabrejets were shot down. News of the incident and the famous gun camera shots were splashed across /hit newspaper headlines the world over like lightning and the tiny Gnat acquired a reputation of being the Sabre killer. By the end of 1971, the Gnat proved to be a frustrating opponent for the technically superior Sabres and had lived up to its Indian Air Force nickname of "Sabre Slayers" since all its combat "kills" during the two wars were against Sabres. The success of the indigenously produced Gnats against the more sophisticated Pakistani-flown aircrafts were viewed as a significant achievement. Details of IAF 1971 operations can be viewed if you click on the links below.

An analysis: Sabrejet (PAF) was a successfull fighter jet during Korean war. Sabrejet was a fighter /bomber. These qualities contributed adding extra weight to the aircraft which subsequently affected Thrust to weight ratio. Sabrejet Engines could not develop/provide the required thrust for Indian battle front and to counter Folland Gnat's quick maneuverability. Folland Gnats were very hard to spot at low levels. The war scenarios in Korean & Indian sub-continents were entirely different. Can you imagine the size & maneuverability of a motor cycle with a large Cargo Trailer Truck? Sabrejet was little bit difficult to maneuver due to it's larger size, cannons & bomb load/weight.

Armament

(F-86F Sabre)

· 5,300 lb (2,400 kg) of payload on four external hardpoints,
· 2 × 200 gallons drop tanks to give the Sabre a useful range. A wide variety of bombs can be carried
· 2 × 1,000 lb bombs plus two drop tanks), napalm bomb /tactical nuclear weapon.

Armament

(Gnat)

2x 30mm ADEN cannons 

 
2x 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or 18x 3 in (76 mm) rockets

Because of these key factors, maneuverability Sabrejet (PAF) decreased to a greater extend as per British experts/ Russian Military Review Magazine of 1985's. Gnat was only a Fighter jet with reduced bomb loads, easy to maneuver can be used like a motor bike. The Battle fields will never accept mistakes either technological or pilot errors. PAF was inactive during naval attack of Karachi harbour by Indian Navy (IN). 

 

The IAF Pilots rated the Mirage-III as the best PAF fighter & were afraid to confront. To their (IAF) surprise, they were not used in 1971 war !!. IAF Mig-21 fighter jets performance was also superior/decisive in the battle. It was the only IAF Fighter jet could catch up with PAF Mirages. This experience with small fighter jets made India to go for designing LCA Tejas.

History will repeat again ?? Wait & see !! "This is not pull ...mua. ha"

A Photo Comparison

SAAB Viggen+Mirage-2000 Vs LCA Tejas

SAAB 37 Viggen

LCA

Mirage-2000

 

LCA

 

Dassault Rafale

 

LCA

 

LCA Tejas - HAL's 30 Years Effort

 

Tejas, India's very own Light Combat Aircraft has achieved an important milestone by gaining Initial Operational Clearance (IOC). This has authenticated the Indian aircraft's airworthiness. The birth of India's first fighter aircraft is thus certified. Tejas is part of Indian presence in Aero Show 2011.

The Defence Minister A K Antony was proud to say that IOC to Tejas is a momentous occasion that the nation has been waiting for towards building our own multi-role combat aircraft. He Pointed out that a state-of-the-art indigenous combat aircraft would go a long way in enhancing national security and the pride of the nation. The Defence Minister noted that the country was poised for a major turning point with the declaration of IOC of Tejas. This is for the first time an indigenously designed and developed military fighter aircraft has been certified for Indian Air Force.

Tejas - Profile :

 

'Tejas' is the smallest, light weight, single engine, single seat, supersonic, multirole, combat aircraft, best in its class in the world. 'Tejas' Programme is spearheaded by Aeronautical Development Agency under the Ministry of Defence R & D, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as its principal partner and with participation of a large number of Laboratories of Defence Research & Development Organisation and Central Scientific & Industrial Research, certification agencies, Indian Air Force, academic institutions and Private/Public Sector Undertakings.

This fourth generation combat aircraft has Carbon Composites, light weight/high strength material for primary structures, quadruplex Digital Flight Control System, glass Cockpit and digital Avionics to give multirole capabilities with carefree maneuvering. These capabilities are further enhanced by several on-board Sensors, Communication and Navigation Systems that are supported by powerful Mission Computers and Cockpit Display System. 

Combat variant, Trainer variant and Naval variants of Tejas are being developed for land and carrier borne operations. Powered by GE-F404 Engine, Tejas has tailless compound delta configuration. It is aerodynamically optimized for good transonic manoeuvres and low supersonic drag. Tejas avionics has a unique built-in feature of monitoring health of on-board Systems and displaying appropriate warnings to the Pilot. A number of software packages as well as design and analysis tools have been developed under 'Tejas' Programme. During the last one decade two Technology Demonstrators, four Prototype Vehicles and five Limited Series Production aircraft were produced. The hot weather, cold weather, Sea level, high altitude conditions of the aircraft were successfully tested. It has completed over 1500 flights. The cost of each Tejas is around rupees 200 crores. 

Major achievements : 

Tejas incorporates a wide range of advanced Sensors, Weapons, Stores and Electronic Warfare suite for obtaining Initial Operational Clearance (IOC). Air-to-Ground Weapons and Air-to-Air Close Combat Missiles have been released from Tejas. Sea level trials were completed at Arrakonam & Goa. Hot weather trials, in two phases completed at Nagpur. Cold weather & high altitude flight trials carried out successfully at Leh. Phase I of Night flying trials is completed. The additional weapons beyond Visual Range, Gun, Rockets, Guided & Un-Guided Bombs on Tejas are integrated. 

Indigenization : 

Tejas is 65% Indian right now. But Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister Dr.V K Saraswat has promised that by the time the aircraft gets Final Operational clearance, the indigenization will reach 75%. The main worry is the powerful engine required for the aircraft. Right now the aircraft uses engine made by an American company. But DRDO is developing a suitable engine for our aircrafts called Kaveri. The Kaveri engine is undergoing tests in Russia and will be brought back to India after certification. Dr. Saraswat disclosed that no country opts for 100% indigenization as it is not cost effective and needs huge infrastructure. Hence, he explained that the main structure and sub-systems of the aircraft are indigenized and the remaining parts are imported. 

 

 

The Roll out plan: 

Tejas Series Production Programme leading to production of initial batch of 20 aircraft is in progress. The limited series production aircraft 7 and 8 will be available for user evaluation by Indian Air Force from March onwards. Induction of series production aircraft would commence from July 2011 onwards. The Managing Director of HAL Ashok Naik has informed that by December this year four aircrafts will be produced. All the 20 aircraft would be delivered by 2013 and the next 20 aircraft in about 2 1/2 years after that. The next batch of 20 Tejas Series Production Aircraft for second squadron will be produced after getting the Final Operational Certificate. 

The Final Operational Clearance of Tejas Mark 1 is expected in 2012. The Trainer variant of Tejas is likely to get its Initial Operation Clearance by end of this year. Development of Tejas Mark 2 aircraft with alternate engine GE-F414 has been initiated. Tejas Mark 2 with higher thrust engines would have its first flight by December 2014. Maiden flight of Tejas Mark 2 is planned during this time. Production version of Mark 2 is planned in June 2016. IAF has projected a requirement of 83 Tejas Mark 2 aircraft. Overall funds allocation for development and production of Tejas is of the order of Rs 25000/- crores. The supersonic fourth generation fighter will form a 200-strong fleet for the IAF to replace its ageing Russian-made MiG-21 fleet and increase the squadron strength to 10 as a potent strike force over the next two decades. The two squadrons of 20 Tejas each will be stationed at Sulur near Coimbatore and Kayathur near Tuticorin both in Tamilnadu.

 

All the development product support equipment & facilities are progressing satisfactorily under the guidance of Indian Air Force. Extensive state-of-the-art design simulation and analysis facilities have been built for various sub systems design as well as aircraft design. Under the programme, aeronautical base is established in the country for future programme. The successful completion of the above programmes will lead the country towards self reliance thereby saving on cost and giving us an edge over others.

LCA Tejas: An Indian Fighter – With Foreign Help

India’s Light Combat Aircraft program is meant to boost its aviation industry, but it must also solve a pressing military problem. The IAF’s fighter strength has been declining as the MiG-21s that form the bulk of its fleet are lost in crashes, or retired due to age and wear. Most of India’s other Cold War vintage aircraft face similar problems.

In response, some MiG-21s have been modernized to MiG-21 ‘Bison’ configuration, and other current fighter types are undergoing modernization programs of their own. The IAF’s hope is that they can maintain an adequate force until the multi-billion dollar 126+ plane MMRCA competition delivers replacements, and more SU-30MKIs arrive from HAL.

 

Which still leaves India without an affordable fighter solution. MMRCA can replace some of India’s mid-range fighters, but what about the MiG-21s? The MiG-21 Bison program adds years of life to those airframes, but even so, they’re likely to be gone by 2020.

That’s why India’s own Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project is so important to the IAF’s future prospects. It’s also why India’s rigid domestic-only policies are gradually being relaxed, in order to field an operational and competitive aircraft. Even with that help, the program’s delays are a growing problem for the IAF. 

Meanwhile, the west’s near-abandonment of the global lightweight fighter market opens an opportunity, if India can seize it with a compelling and timely product.

LCA 'Tejas' Financials

LCA 'Tejas' Financials R&D:USD 480m to 700m Unit Cost: USD 17m-26m Dimensions Wing span: [Link pending approval] Height: [Link pending approval] length: [Link pending approval] Operational Figures Speed: [Link pending approval] Ceiling: 16,400m Range: 840km Inflight refueling: Yes G Limit: 9 / [Link pending approval] Weight (take off): 8500kg Weapons load: 4000kg Engine/Arms Kaveri GTX-35VS Fire Control Radar GE AN/APG 67C multi mode Astra(BVR,>100km) ,R-73RDM2 Short AAM Magic2/AA8/AA10 Important Dates Project started on: 1985 First test flight: Jan 4th, 2001 Serial Production: 2010 Induction: Nos 200+ How does compare with the F-16?

Induction of LCA Tejas postponed to November

 

IAF Tejas Landing at Aero India-2013

New Delhi, DHNS: June 24, 2013

The much-awaited induction of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft in the Indian Air Force got further delayed with the Defence Ministry giving the LCA team a new deadline of November, 2013, to obtain the initial operational clearance-2, which will be the last but one hurdle before the LCA gets inducted into the air force.

The earlier deadline for the IOC-2 was September, which has been extended by two months now. The schedule for the final operational clearance will be December, 2014, though the top brass in the IAF is sceptical about the FOC deadline.

At a review meeting on Monday, Defence Minister A K Antony asked the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to avoid any further slippage on the LCA programme that began in 1983 with the target of developing the indigenous fighter in five years.
But 30 years down the line and after spending more than Rs 13,000 crore, the Tejas light combat aircraft is still not a part of the Indian Air Force inventory, though recently it flew in an IAF exercise at Pokhran.

Tejas Trainer 62-New Delhi Parade

The Indian Air Force placed an order of two squadrons of LCA with the Aeronautical Development Agency. But the induction can happen only after LCA receives it’s IOC-2 certificate from the regulatory body, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification, Bangalore.

At the review meeting, HAL was asked to ramp up its production capacity to 16 aircraft a year.

Even though the LCA got its IOC-I in January, 2011, the aircraft had to go through an additional IOC as the IAF was unhappy with the IOC-I. The government had earlier sanctioned LCA’s full scale engineering development by December 31, 2018.

An Indian MiG-21 Crash